... China’s programme to build a Navy and formulate its doctrine was initiated by Deng Xiaoping in 1979. The pace of construction of warships and submarines picked up in the past decade. By 2000, China had a Navy of 19 large surface combatants and 63 small surface combatants like frigates and corvettes. Construction was accelerated and in 2016 alone the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned 18 warships, including destroyers, corvettes and guided missile frigates. The PLAN plans to have a total of 60 “light missile frigates” in its inventory, with one missile frigate to be launched every three weeks.

China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier began its maiden sea trial early Sunday morning, state media reported, putting its home-made power and propulsion systems to the test. The yet-to-be-christened Type 001A carrier left a shipyard at the northeastern port of Dalian at 6.45am, Xinhua said, and sailed out of the port half an hour later. The local maritime authority has declared a restricted area in the Yellow Sea off the Dalian coast from Sunday to noon on Friday. Military observers have been watching for signs the new aircraft carrier was about to start sea trials after photos of it being...

China has reportedly deployed surface-to-air missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles to on Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands chain in the South China Sea. That is in addition to China’s recent installation of jamming equipment in the region, which is designed to disrupt communications and radar systems. The Chinese land-based anti-ship cruise missile is believed to be the YJ-12B, which would allow China to strike surface vessels within 295 nautical miles of the reefs. The long-range surface-to-air missiles are the HQ-9B, which can engage targets at ranges of 160 nautical miles. Intelligence assessments say...

Taiwan’s military is scheduled to simulate defending the island from an invasion by mainland China. The simulation will be part of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang drills, which begin next week. Citing a statement by the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, the Japan Times said that “Taiwan will simulate repelling an invading force, emergency repairs of a major air base and using civilian-operated drones as part of military exercises starting next week.” Although the exercise begins then, the Defense Ministry said that the main part of the drill will take place from June 4 to June 8. That part will consist of...

Op-ed | Moon Direct: How to build a moonbase in four yearsby Robert Zubrin — March 30, 2018SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which made its debut Feb. 6, is the foundation of author Robert Zubrin’s “Moon Direct” plan for affordably returning humans to the moon within four years. Credit: SpaceX This op-ed originally appeared in the March 26, 2018 issue of SpaceNews magazine.The recent amazing success of the Falcon Heavy launch offers America an unprecedented opportunity to break the stagnation that has afflicted its human spaceflight program for decades. In short, the moon is now within reach.Here’s how the mission plan...

Introduction: For the last 14 years I have produced an annual review of the buildup and modernization of the Chinese Navy, the People's Liberation Army Navy, or "PLAN" as it is called. At the time these reviewws started, the PLAN was just embarking on producing more mordern vessels, and had acquired a carrier, the old Soviet Varyag, which was the second in their Kuznetsov class, but which was sitting unfinished in Ukraine due to the fall of the Soviet Union. The Chinese indicated at the time that they were buying it through a private company to make it into...

China is developing sea-based anti-missile systems and plans to deploy them in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, according to military experts. The assessment came as Beijing announced it had carried out a successful test of its ground-based mid-course defence system on Monday. Testing of the anti-ballistic missile system that could shield China from a ballistic missile attack is part of efforts to catch up with the top nuclear nations with anti-missile technology, the United States and Russia. China previously carried out tests of the system in 2010 and 2013. Beijing is also working on a sea-based system for the Asia-Pacific...

In this photo released by China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the first Type 055 destroyer (classified by Western sources as cruiser) is being launched in Shanghai’s Jiangnan Shipyard on June 28, 2017. China is reportedly building at least 5 and possibly up to 8 Type 055s. (PLAN) The Chinese regime has been challenging U.S. military supremacy for years with an all-out military buildup. The construction of multiple ships of a class of large, high-tech naval cruisers may signal an altering of the balance of power in Asian waters, and is a harbinger of increased global competition between the two...

Despite that slight, Trump made the promotion of policies that support a healthy oil and gas industry a centerpiece of his campaign strategy from beginning to end. During his speeches, the primary and general election debates, and the hundreds of rallies he conducted before crowds of thousands of supporters, candidate Trump talked about issues all too familiar to those in and around the nation’s oil patches: the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, EPA’s Waters of the United States regulatory scheme, the Clean Power Plan and the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) hydraulic fracturing rule. At a September 2016 rally...

China has developed a new magnetic propulsion motor that could make nuclear submarines far stealthier, state media have claimed. According to a new report, the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has tested the country’s first permanent system of this kind, paving the way for quieter and more elusive high-speed vessels. The new magnetic drive, if successful, could bring the Chinese navy more on par with the US and other Western naval forces.

A technological breakthrough in naval propulsion will enable China’s second home-grown aircraft carrier to use the world’s most advanced jet launch system without having to resort to nuclear power, overcoming a huge hurdle in the vessel’s development, military sources said. The development of the integrated propulsion system (IPS) would allow the vessel to be more efficient, allowing more power for an electromagnetic catapult, rather than a less technologically advanced steam-driven catapult launch system, the sources said. China’s first two carriers, the Liaoning and its sister ship, the Type 001A, are conventionally powered vessels equipped with Soviet-designed ski-jump launch systems. But...

Lockheed Unveils Plans for Orbiting Mars Base Camp and Lander Within 10 Years By Mike Killian Mars Base Camp is Lockheed Martin’s vision for sending humans to Mars in about a decade. The Mars surface lander called the Mars Accent Descent Vehicle (MADV) is a single-stage system that uses Orion systems as the command deck. It could allow astronauts to explore the surface for two weeks at a time before returning back to the Mars Base Camp in orbit around Mars. Credits: Lockheed Martin Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, officials with Lockheed Martin today revealed...

Our colleagues from East Pendulum are reporting that the Huangpu Shipyard of the Chinese naval group CSSC launched a Type 054A frigate for People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy) on September 22nd. This is the 14th frigate of this class (designated Jiangkai II-class by NATO) built in this shipyard, located near the city of Guangzhou in southern China, and the 28th overall in the series. The 27th Type 054A was launched less than 6 months ago, showing once again the fast pace of China's naval shipbuilding industry. Note that this new frigate is also the 3rd one to...

China is producing naval vessels at a rate that will soon see the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) eclipse the US Navy (USN) in force structure and capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region. Sources indicate that China is intent on replacing the US as security guarantor for the region, and could use its position to force regional neighbours to serve as tributary states. China’s naval modernisation efforts are based entirely on modelling their navy after the US naval combatant structure, said Chris Cavas, a Washington-based naval analyst. They are emulating the USN’s ‘balanced fleet concept’, he said, with destroyers, frigates, logistics,...

The Secretary of Defense has frozen a decision by former President Barack Obama to recruit transgender soldiers this year, and a new poll shows the planned recruitment freeze is very popular. Two of every three swing voters say the Pentagon should postpone plans to accept “transgender” people who are trying to live as members of the opposite sex, according to the new poll by Rasmussen Reports. Defense Secretary James Mattis explained his July 30 decision to delay Obama’s plan for six months, just before it was to begin operating: Since becoming the Secretary of Defense, I have emphasized that the...

China launched what it calls the most advanced and largest warship in Asia on Wednesday, billing it as a major step forward in the modernisation of its navy, the official military newspaper said. The first of the new type 055 guided-missile destroyers, which has a displacement of more than 10,000 tons and was built at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, is equipped with air defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, the PLA Daily reported. The launch of the ship marks an important step towards China’s dream of having a strong and modern naval force, a member of the Central Military...

Once again President Trump proves that he is a man of his word. Earlier today, the leader of the free world announced a wonderful tax plan that will provide tremendous aid to individuals and small businesses alike. The new tax plan consists of the following: lower individual income tax rates, a reduction in business rates, one time tax on overseas profits, a new territorial tax system, tax break for child care costs, and the repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax. The President’s new tax plan is in great alignment with his written proposals on tax reforms in his 2015 book...

SINGAPORE—China's launch of its first homegrown aircraft carrier on Wednesday could be the beginning of a financial train wreck, according to carrier design and construction specialists. Unless seriously revised, China's plans for its future carrier force could become a major financial difficulty for the country. The resources poured into aircraft carriers are a massive budgetary burden, even in the United States, according to Andrew Marshall, former director of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment. China's first "indigenous" aircraft carrier, assigned the hull number of CV-17, is expected to be named the Shandong and will be slightly larger at 70,000 tons...

Trump has released his tax reform plan and there is much interesting about it; let us focus on one small portion that will get the most headlines – reducing the corporate tax rate from 39% to 15%. The United States has the third highest corporate tax rate in the world at 39% – even China’s corporate tax rate is only 25%. Yes, we tax corporations at a higher rate than the commies! The caveat that is that no one pays the 39%. There are deductions – and deductions are the threat to this tax plan passing congress. While the corporate...